The invention relates to a horizontally disposed container for the processing of wine grape must. In wineries and other facilities engaged in the crushing, pressing and further processing of wine grapes, large stainless steel tanks are used having capacities of from 2500 to 150,000 liters. Besides the problem of making the best use of the available space, such container are required to be self-emptying to the largest extent possible, so that the least amount of pomace will remain in the tank after completion of the emptying operation, and further, to be easy to clean because the tanks must be in a nearly sterile condition before receiving a fresh charge. If there are any pomace residues left in the tank at the time the tank is refilled, the entire fresh charge in the tank is in danger of failing to produce the required quality, at the least, and oftentimes it may be contaminated completely. The tanks are usually equipped with agitating means, giving rise to the creation of nooks and corners which encourage the buildup of pomace. It is known to provide a discharge screw at the bottom of a horizontal tank to remove all pomace settling on the tank bottom. Since the discharge screw is incapable of covering the entire bottom area, and since the cylindrical tanks are circular in cross-section, a great deal of the pomace settling on flat sections of the tank wall, particularly on the floor, escapes the expelling action of the screw and must be removed by hand.
A solution to the aforementioned problems is particularly difficult in tanks equipped with agitating means. Proposals providing for the highest possible degree of completeness of evacuation of the tank involve a structural complexity which is apt to hamper the cleaning of the tank. For example, if rigid stirring paddles were to be extended to almost touch the inner surface of the tank wall, it might be possible to scrape any pomace off the wall that might have built up there, but some pomace would get stuck between the paddle and the wall and it would be very difficult to remove them by a strong water jet. Moreover, since the tank structure tends to shift somewhat depending on the varying charges, it is alone for this reason not possible to provide but a small space between the paddle end and the inner tank wall. On the other hand, if the distance between the paddle end and the inner tank wall is sufficiently large, a thick layer of pomace tends to settle in the lower half of a conventional cylindrical tank, the thickness of the pomace layer corresponding to the space between the paddle end and the tank wall. Consequently, large quantities of pomace must be removed from the tank during the subsequent cleaning operation.